Lance earned his Master’s in the Odum School of Ecology’s Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development program (2018). His thesis focused on the relocation of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) from the Southern Ionics Minerals LLC Mission Mine site to a recipient site with an existing population and monitoring their spatial use via GPS loggers. Following graduation, he maintained a position of Research Professional II within the Applied Wildlife Conservation Lab. His duties in this position involved managing the field work involved in our holistic approach to gopher tortoise conservation and other priority wildlife surveys, devising technical management plans, publishing research findings, and overseeing all relocation tasks at Mission Mine and recipient sites. Currently, he is a freelance herpetologist and continues to work with the Lab on various aspects of the gopher tortoise project.

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Lance graduated from UNC Greensboro with a B.S. in Biology in 2012. He has worked on projects throughout the Southeast with species such as eastern indigo snakes, spotted turtles, diamondback terrapins, and eastern box turtles. His career goal is to combine herpetological research and captive husbandry in order to contribute to the conservation and recovery of imperiled species.